Chapter 4-6
Chapter 4
Grant sat nervously in his bunk wondering why the sergeant had told him to wait in his room. He thought back to his childhood and how the other kids his age at the church would always make fun of him for having a multiply split soul. Calling him names such as “multi” not to mention the physical abuse he sustained. He would often come home in tears asking his mother why he was different and she would comfort him to the best of her ability. When he reached his adolescence he stopped feeling sorry for himself and decided to become a hunter. He joined the church’s junior protector school and began training. He redirected his self-loathing and anger when someone would make fun of him and poured it into his training. Being told he wasn’t good enough only fueled his passion to prove everyone wrong. He hated the splitters even the legal ones. In his eyes they were the cause of all his misery. When he was old enough they asked him if he would like to meet his soul mates, he declined saying that if he can’t have only one he would rather not have any. For him he had his mother who was his rock and always supported all of his decisions. He felt with her he didn’t need anyone else in his life. He doesn’t see her as much anymore since reached hunter training school. The last time he saw his mother when he graduated basic training of the protectors. She always showed him more kindness and love than any other person in his life and he would do anything for her.
Suddenly the door to his room opened and a major stepped in, Grant immediately got to his feet and saluted him. “At ease son I’m here to tell you that you are going to be transferred to the special hunter unit that has just been created” the major said. Grant didn’t know how to contain the pride he felt and shook the major’s hand with maybe a little too much enthusiasm. “Thank you sir, I have been working almost my whole life for this” Grant said sounding almost like a child on his birthday. “You are to report to your unit in 48 hours, for now you are on leave” the major said and left Grant’s room. Grant knew exactly who he wanted to see and rushed for the first train to his mothers.
Terra, Grant’s mother, lived in the residential area just outside the boundaries of the church. She hadn’t seen her son in close to six months and when she got the call from him that he would be coming home for a few days she mustered the energy to somewhat prepare the apartment for him. She was very proud of all her son has accomplished, though she somewhat disagreed with his decision to become a hunter. She understood why he chose this path but wished it wasn’t anger that fueled his passion to succeed. She asked him several times if this goal was what he truly wanted and he would always answer affirmatively however she felt he misunderstood the question. Still he took great care of her and himself sending her money while he was away so she could cover her medical bills that were ever rising. She had been diagnosed with the mutated form of the John Cunningham virus. While almost the whole population in the world harbored this virus doctors were noticing an increase in the number people being affected by its reactivation. Closer examination showed that the exposure to radiation during the nuclear assaults of the Great God War had caused it to mutate an in approximately fifteen percent of carriers it would reactivate. This condition was easily treatable however the increasing cost of medicine was causing Terra to have to reduce her recommended dosage so she could stretch out the length in which each prescription would last. The doctors told her that doing this would worsen the damage done by the virus, but she had little choice. At this point her kidneys are all but useless and soon she would need a replacement. While cloned kidneys were easy to come by these days, it was still quite expensive and she didn’t want to ask her son for the money. She also didn’t want to burden him with how sick she actually was so often times she would do her best to appear healthy when he was around.
Grant knocked and entered the house immediately searching for his mother who was sitting in her favorite recliner. She got up and hugged him “So good to see you honey, how is your training going?” He beamed with pride as he told her, “I am getting transferred into a new special hunter unit, I finally have reached my goal.” She simply smiled at him and hugged him again “Congratulations you’ve worked so hard for this I’m so proud of you.” Grant went to get himself a drink from the fridge and sat down. “So how are things going at home and how are you feeling?” he asked. “I’m fine dear still can’t take my meds as prescribed but not much I can do about it I guess” she told him. Grant’s expression changed “hopefully I will be able to send you more money so you can afford all the meds you will need.” She put her hand on his knee “you just take care of yourself ok, I’m fine.” Grant knew his mother well enough to know that this meant the opposite, however he also knew not to pry because he respected her privacy. “You need anything mom and I will do my best to get you whatever it is” Grant said in a somewhat somber tone. “Thank you, I will son” she said. Not wishing to dwell on her illness any further Grant changed the subject to something irrelevant trying to lighten the mood.
Chapter 5
“Jasper come in here please” Charlie had to get the guild moving somewhat. Jasper came in Bella in hand. “Damn it Jasper why do you have to bring that plant everywhere you go?” Charlie asked irritated. “Sir Bella doesn’t like to be away from me and I can’t bear to be parted from her” Jasper answered. Charlie didn’t feel like arguing so he moved to the topic he called Jasper in for “this client we are getting ready for Kane who is he?” Jasper look at the files on his tablet “he is a surgeon for the hospital near the church sir, according to him he has 5 soul mates however none of them are human female” Jasper read this in disgust. “Quite frankly sir I don’t know why he needs a human female soul mate what he has should be enough” Jasper said stroking his bonsai. “If you say so Jasper if the soul scanners are done with him please send him in to me” Charlie said.
The man who walked into Charlie’s office was a shorter man that was fairly built. Charlie offered him the seat at his desk and sat down himself. “Good morning Dr. Stall, my name is Charlie I run the guild here. According to our scan your soul has been split five times already is that correct?” Charlie asked. “Yes sir that is correct they were all split in a past life of mine and I have the luck that all five are either animals or males” Dr. Stall said. “You understand doctor that you are getting close to tearing your soul and we can’t guarantee that won’t happen right” Charlie said sternly. “I’m confident my soul can take it but yes I understand” Dr. Stall said. “I did have one question Charlie that has been bothering me, if you are saving these lives what stops them for making some scientific breakthrough or from changing the world in some way?” Charlie has answered this a thousand times and now sounds sarcastic “doctor people have near death experiences all the time. They say they will be a changed individual and do something with their life afterwards but very rarely does it ever happen. On those cases where it does the odds are good they did it with the help of others that would have likely accomplished the task without the help of this person.” Dr. Stall had clearly not thought of this and simply nodded. “What our soul scanner technician has told us is that the best time period to split your soul will be in a life during the early 20th century around 1912 just before the First World War” Charlie told him. Dr. Stall asked in curiosity “is this technician the man to carry out my splitting request?” At this point Charlie was up getting himself some water and offering it to the doctor who declined. “No typically the splitter assigned to you would do the scanning however he is on another assignment at the moment and we wanted to begin processing your request. Our splitter should return by midday and we will notify you when he arrives” Charlie answered. “Why do I have to be here Charlie can’t you simply go back and split the soul without my presence?” Dr. Stall asked. “Normally yes however, since your soul is nearing the tearing point we will need you here and you will be restrained in the event that your soul does tear. Understand this is for our protection as well as those you work and live around” Charlie responded. To this Dr. Stall frowned but simply nodded understandingly. “Well if that will be all doctor I have some other things I must attend to. We will notify you when your splitter has returned so we can arrange a time for you return.” Charlie shook his hand and the doctor left.
Chapter 6
Walking down the corridor towards the light the Egyptian could tell by the markings that this tomb was older then himself. His teachers had taught him how to read the symbols and he read of a story of a strange person entering a village. Dressed very differently from the tribe they captured him and sent him to work with the slaves. However the villagers were amazed when they saw the large stone mover he had created. The Egyptian recognized the cart structure that was used to build the pyramids. He wondered if this stranger was the one who advised his ancestors how to build one. Eventually the village accepted the man and made him an advisor. He told stories of death and of the soul. The Egyptian had trouble seeing what was written about the soul when a flash occurred.
Startled awake Kane sat up on the train and realized he was at his destination. His headache was back as was his irritation. Trying to forget that he had the dream all together Kane got up and left the train. Once outside he began to head towards the church. The layout of the churches building was very similar to its symbol the hashti from the reiki culture. The buildings formed a triangle with a road forming a circle running through each building. Connecting bridges met at the center and another bridge connected the southernmost buildings. He checked and saw that he was heading for the building in the southwest. At the entrance to the church grounds was a scanner to ensure that no one had a multiply split soul. Those that did had to agree to a more thorough exam to prove that all the splits had occurred in a past life. Even after this proof they were still restricted to a smaller worship area mostly to protect them from the prejudice of others. Kane walked through the scanner without trouble but was immediately confronted by a priest. “My son you have not split your soul once, do you not wish to follow our most basic belief?” Kane lied to get the man off his back “no sir I am simply not ready to have a soul mate.” The priest understood and walked away. Kane couldn’t stand some of the things the church would attempt to force others to do. Their basic belief that the soul should be split once so that everyone has a partner to follow the word with was absurd to him. The church believed in a creator but they never specifically gave him a name nor thought he was watching over them. The war did away with the belief of an all-powerful god since most of those left saw the danger in believing that a single being commanded humanity to act in a specific way. Still this church wanted society to believe that something created them rather than evolution. Most of the other commands were very similar to those found in past religions particularly those of the big three such as do unto others and monogamy. This coincided that humans were meant to be with their soul mate and no other regardless of the species that soul inhabits. Some took this too literally and Kane felt for the poor animals that suffered at the hands of these overzealous followers.
After walking through the worship areas he entered the central gardens and headed for his building. Once there he saw the scientist wearing a lab coat with a dinosaur patch and approached him. “Nice day isn’t it” Kane said. The scientist nodded but mostly ignored him. “Days like this get me thinking about life and in particular cell division, I prefer meiosis over mitosis myself” Kane followed with. To this the scientist looked up and told Kane to follow him giving him a badge. “My name is not important and don’t bother mentioning the lab coat if you are caught I am burning it once I have gotten you in” the scientist told him. Kane understood the need for secrecy; were he to be caught he would likely be heavily interrogated and the less he knew of this spy the safer the spy likely felt. “I understand so where are we headed?” Kane asked. “I’m taking you to the hunter testing facility; you will have basic access but may be able to find some of the answers you are seeking in there” the scientist replied. They reached a door with a badge scanner on it the scientist motioned for Kane to use his badge. Kane swiped it across the scanner and the door unlocked. “This is as far as I can take you I have to get back to my station good luck” the scientist said and left.
Kane entered the building switching on his audio amplifier hoping to get an idea of what direction he should head. Walking down a hall he saw a sign directing towards a cafeteria. He thought this would likely be the best place for him to gather information as most people may be discussing research or at the very least their jobs in there. Ordering a coffee he sat at a table and listened. Most of what he heard had to do with sports or the employees families. Suddenly he heard mention of a special hunter unit and keyed in on that. “So you are saying that the first success in the program was a man with a multiply split soul?” a younger woman in a lab coat said. The man with her nodded “apparently a portion of his soul is several millennia old and because of this it took very well testing. He showed signs of instant reflexes to outside stimuli and a greater sense of aural abilities as well. From the reports I read about a soul scan before and after the test, this older portion showed more activity as if it evolved after the injections were added.” Kane attempted to listen more closely when a woman with a scar down her right cheek in uniform asked him if the seat near him was taken. Kane shook his head knowing he wouldn’t be able to focus on the pair anymore. “I can’t say I’ve ever seen you here, new?” the woman asked. “Yeah today is my first day and taking a break from the initial paperwork and all” Kane said while glancing at his badge to see what it was his job was that gave him access, he was a janitor. “Well I’m Colonel Kassandra I am one of the heads of the hunter division here” Kas said. Kane shook her hand getting a little nervous though maintaining his cool on the outside. “My family and I really appreciate what the hunters do to keep us safe and keep the torn souls from being created” Kane lied. “That isn’t the only thing we do we also hunt down the splitters who are making the torn souls. Figure better to cut off the head of the serpent rather than kill its children” Kas said staring Kane straight in the eye. “I see well my break is up Colonel it was a pleasure to meet you, I will see you around” Kane said again shaking her hand and leaving the cafeteria. Kane knew he didn’t have long before he was found out so he decided it best to leave with the information that he had. It was better than nothing and at least he now knew of a secret program to enhance the senses of hunters. Exiting the building proved to be a simple task and in a little under an hour he was back on the train returning to HQ.